We flew to Varanasi from Delhi arriving early evening, dropped our bags off and immediately hailed a tuk tuk for a white knuckle ride to the River Ganges where there was a fire ceremony going on. This happens every evening and involves music, much painting of faces and bowls of fire which are passed through the crowd by a guru, if your face is painted you are blessed and touching the fire is a cleansing ritual that everyone participates in. There was a lot to see here and we arrived very late so came back the following night to see it all again!
It is very colourful to watch and very easy to get swept into the atmosphere as you are drawn into a huge crowd, the surge is towards the Ganges where there are many platforms, each with it's own guru, flowers, people putting little floating tea lights into the river. People shave, bring a change of clothes and then immerse themselves in the water for purification. It is believed that bathing in The Ganges ends the cycle of life/death and cleanses the soul of sin.
At night there is a central section where people beg, it becomes pedestrianised for about a mile and is crammed with cows, people heading to the fire festival and yet more stalls selling trinkets and food
The funeral fires: Daily Mail link with explanation and pictures
We spent a morning at the edge of the Ganges watching cremations take place. We didn't have a guide but had read up beforehand and found the link above helpful.
It takes about 300 kilo of mango wood to burn a body, which takes about 3 hours. We saw the bodies lined up on the ground in shrouds, decorated with orange cloth and marigold flowers. Cows wander along and eat the marigolds, dogs also wander amongst the smouldering embers as a cremation comes to an end, they will scavenge in the ashes and are kept back by relatives tending the body. The ashes are scooped up and thrown into the Ganges River at the end of the process and the funeral pyre is quickly taken over by the next cremation, it's a continuing cycle throughout the day. Mourners mostly don't object to the presence of tourists, provided they do not to take pictures of the bodies and kept a respectful distance.
We found the best observation point was directly above the pyres where the mango wood was stacked. Tourists take boats out and observe from the water, but you can see and experience everything better where we stood.
The procedure is respectful but we did not see any relatives crying or sad, completing the life cycle of a relative is seen as a positive event, their cremation releasing the soul to nirvana.
Vendors along The Ganges at Varanasi... snake charmer to the left...
Early morning at Varanasi Ghats: there is a market with school children walking in groups and vendors selling food and trinkets. .
Taking the tuk tuk from the hotel was hair raising, we went several times and the journey varied between about 25 minutes and 45 minutes depending on what route the driver took and traffic, which was solid. Traffic appears chaotic with vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road, frequent prangs and cows sleeping or wandering on the roads. You have to walk about a mile from the beginning of the market area as it is pedestrianised beyond this. At night it is very crowded and there is a good atmosphere. I think Varanasi is well worth putting into your itinerary of India and was probably my favourite of the tour.
tip: agree the price for your journey by tuk tuk before you get in, have the right amount of money ready at end of journey and if your driver is good, get his name and have him meet you the next day if you want to go out again - drivers are keen for business and will argue over you which can waste a lot of time!
It is very colourful to watch and very easy to get swept into the atmosphere as you are drawn into a huge crowd, the surge is towards the Ganges where there are many platforms, each with it's own guru, flowers, people putting little floating tea lights into the river. People shave, bring a change of clothes and then immerse themselves in the water for purification. It is believed that bathing in The Ganges ends the cycle of life/death and cleanses the soul of sin.
At night there is a central section where people beg, it becomes pedestrianised for about a mile and is crammed with cows, people heading to the fire festival and yet more stalls selling trinkets and food
The bracelets are very pretty,but most of them are made of
very thin glass so not a safe souvenir choice for children.
The funeral fires: Daily Mail link with explanation and pictures
We spent a morning at the edge of the Ganges watching cremations take place. We didn't have a guide but had read up beforehand and found the link above helpful.
It takes about 300 kilo of mango wood to burn a body, which takes about 3 hours. We saw the bodies lined up on the ground in shrouds, decorated with orange cloth and marigold flowers. Cows wander along and eat the marigolds, dogs also wander amongst the smouldering embers as a cremation comes to an end, they will scavenge in the ashes and are kept back by relatives tending the body. The ashes are scooped up and thrown into the Ganges River at the end of the process and the funeral pyre is quickly taken over by the next cremation, it's a continuing cycle throughout the day. Mourners mostly don't object to the presence of tourists, provided they do not to take pictures of the bodies and kept a respectful distance.
We found the best observation point was directly above the pyres where the mango wood was stacked. Tourists take boats out and observe from the water, but you can see and experience everything better where we stood.
The procedure is respectful but we did not see any relatives crying or sad, completing the life cycle of a relative is seen as a positive event, their cremation releasing the soul to nirvana.
Vendors along The Ganges at Varanasi... snake charmer to the left...
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Early morning at Varanasi Ghats: there is a market with school children walking in groups and vendors selling food and trinkets. .
Taking the tuk tuk from the hotel was hair raising, we went several times and the journey varied between about 25 minutes and 45 minutes depending on what route the driver took and traffic, which was solid. Traffic appears chaotic with vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road, frequent prangs and cows sleeping or wandering on the roads. You have to walk about a mile from the beginning of the market area as it is pedestrianised beyond this. At night it is very crowded and there is a good atmosphere. I think Varanasi is well worth putting into your itinerary of India and was probably my favourite of the tour.
tip: agree the price for your journey by tuk tuk before you get in, have the right amount of money ready at end of journey and if your driver is good, get his name and have him meet you the next day if you want to go out again - drivers are keen for business and will argue over you which can waste a lot of time!
next blog post will be Agra and Jaipur.
A fascinating write-up. I just love all the colour and joy that radiate from the photos despite Varanasi being a place associated with death. We've never been - many times we've been on the brink of travelling there but some obstacle has got in the way - that's India for you!
ReplyDeleteYou look fantastic in both your tunic tops, you definitely got your holiday packing just right. xxx
thank you Vix, I am so pleased my tops cost a few quid on EBay, they really earned their keep. I hope you get to Varanasi, I think you would have the most fantastic time.
DeleteI love their concept of not mourning over the death of loved ones and releasing the soul to Nirvana. Grief is such a soul-destroying sadness to go through when someone close to us passes on. You've really captured the spirit of the place, Betty, both in your photography and your writing. Carry on! Can't wait for the rest.
ReplyDeleteAmazing experiences, Betty. I think I would find the crowds overwhelming though.
ReplyDelete